1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to the field of regulating and motivating the provision of answers to questions, utilizing a computer system or network.
2. Description of Related Art
Business networks and the Internet are often used as a means of publishing questions and receiving answers to those questions from other people using the network. The Usenet newsgroup system, for instance, allows users to publish questions or comments on a wide variety of topics, and allows other users to answer, with both questions and answers widely distributed over the Internet. The Usenet system operates on a volunteer basis, with no special incentive for answering questions. As Internet traffic has grown, the volume of questions on the Usenet systems has become too large to handle on a purely volunteer basis, especially in the most popular topic areas. The Usenet newsgroups do not have any automatic means of regulating the number of questions a given user asks, and they include no means of rewarding those who answer questions. Also, publishing a question or answer in a newsgroup exposes the publisher to unwanted Email and loss of confidentiality, since published questions and answers include an Email address.
Several World Wide Web sites have recently been created to provide answers to questions by allowing Web users to publish questions and obtain answers. Examples of such sites include: www.answers.com, www.findout.com, and www.inquiry.com. Some sites charge for the service (www.answers.com); others offer simple answers for free as a way of attracting customers their Web site (www.findout.com, www.inquiry.com). These sites either charge money for answers, or place no limit on the number of questions a user can ask. None of these sites allow general Web users to answer questions.
What is needed is a method for providing questions and answers over a computer network, with a flexible means of regulating the number of questions each user asks, and a non-monetary incentive for inducing other users to answer questions.